KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said Malaysian policymakers and parents must unlearn certain outdated beliefs and overcome past negative experiences for women's sports to progress in the country.
Yeoh, recalling her own experiences, said she viewed sports differently as a young girl based on what she saw and what was told to her at the time.
"I was forced to learn taekwondo by my father, but I did not like it. I wanted to be a ballerina, because at the time I thought girls (were supposed to) play piano and do ballet, said Yeoh ïn her keynote speech at the Sime Darby Foundation Women and Girls in Sports Forum yesterday.
"I resented it (taekwondo). But being a minister now, I must set aside that experience and say that girls can also excel in taekwondo and karate. If that is what they are interested in, we should support them.
"Sometimes, I also find myself telling my daughters to put on sunblock and avoid playing under the hot sun, (be) fair and lovely. This is because of what my relatives told me when I was growing up. They told me that you are only beautiful if you are fair (skinned).
"I was given the nickname 'Hak Mui' in the village I grew up in, which in Cantonese means 'the dark girl'.
"This was because I used to spend a lot of time running under the hot sun.
"So today, when I ask my daughters what sport they want to take up and they choose football, which involves training under the hot sun at 1pm, I just have to zip my mouth and tell them to go for it if that is what they enjoy.
"These (past) experiences will shape how we formulate policies. They may be relevant today (or in past), however, not for our girls in the future."
The forum aims to discuss strategies for fostering a more inclusive environment for women in the development of Malaysian sports.
More than 200 stakeholders, comprising former and current national athletes, national sports associations, government agencies, industry representatives, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations and industry experts, participated in the forum.
They included squash legend Datuk Nicol David, bowling great Datuk Shalin Zulkifli, national track cycling head coach John Beasley and former Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar, who is also Sime Darby Foundation chairman.
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